This invention relates to packaging equipment and, more particularly, to incorporation of labeling equipment into a packaging line for applying a band across a cover of a package to indicate opening of the cover.
Packages come in a large variety of sizes and shapes to fit particular products being marketed. Of particular interest is the nature of packaging utilized for protecting products, such as drugs, which are to be consumed by the public. Protection of such products necessitates some form of assurance to a consumer that the package has not been tampered with, more particularly that the cover of the package has not been opened and replaced. Outbreaks of tampering with non-prescription drug packages have made necessary installation of equipment which readily can convert packaging lines to provide an additional step of affixing some form of closure seals to packages to show evidence of tampering; hence, a "tamper evident" closure seal.
A problem exists in that no equipment has been available commercially which can readily convert a packaging line to provide the necessary banding with the appropriate seals. Attempts to utilize existing protective coverings are costly in both a financial sense, and in a sense of requiring additional space in the packaging facility. Current "closure to package" tamper resistant seals made of shrink fit plastic film, which embrace both the sides of the closure and the neck of the package, require special equipment to be added to the packaging line, in order to apply the closure seals. Also, wrapping the container in heat sealable "tamper evident" films requires additional equipment to perform the wrapping operation.
Each of the foregoing approaches calls for the packaging line to be extended in order to incorporate necessary additional machinery. This extension involves considerable expense and is also time consuming. Packaging areas also may have to be reoriented or extended in order to find for the machinery a place within the facility in which the packaging is taking place.